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Mayor Marianne Matichuk claims she has unearthed $4.8 million in savings in the city's proposed $206-million budget.

The much-touted list of proposed budget cuts, which was distributed to senior managers and fellow councillors Thursday afternoon, brought Wednesday's budget meeting of council to a standstill when the mayor announced she was preparing it.

Councillors agreed to extend ratification of the 2011 operating budget by another two weeks and will meet Saturday morning to discuss her list of proposed cuts and any other lists councillors or staff may bring forward.

In particular, Matichuk has identified 44 budget items encompassing every city department that were either under budget in 2010, and yet given the same budget for 2011, or which were dramatically increased in 2011 without satisfactory explanation.

None of the potential cuts she identified would lead to any department spending less money than it did last year, she said. On the face of it there's no reason these cuts would lead to a diminishment in front-line services.

Purchased or contracted services for general administration in the Community Development department -- $306,000;

Purchased or contracted services for parks and maintenance -- $296,000;

Materials and operating expenses for water treatment -- $216,000.

Indeed, Matichuk said she asked staff for an objective report of the use, cost and benefits of fluoride in the city's water supply weeks ago, but never received one.

There may well be explanations for many of these items, but if only some of them can be cut, there's potential for savings. If others -- staff and councillors -- also "drill down into the budget," the potential for savings will increase, she said.

"If it turns out that these things are not feasible, because lord knows there's probably going to be an excuse or something ... Well, you know what? There's things for next year," she said.

It will never be her intention to diminish services, only to deliver more effective and efficient ser vices, she said.

She has made it clear, as other councillors did Wednesday, that budget cuts don't have to mean ser vice cuts.

"My philosophy is this: If you used that money last year, why do you need a huge, honking increase this year," she said. "So that's why I looked for what I call fat in the budget."

As for the tumult she has caused, Matichuk dismisses it simply.

"It's very easy to increase taxes," she said. "But it's very hard to decrease them."